Texans' Tytus Howard, Jimmie Ward sidelined

Texans starting right offensive tackle Tytus Howard, still recovering from hand surgery after breaking two bones during training camp and having metal hardware inserted, isn’t practicing Wednesday.

Although Howard practiced Monday while wearing a large cast on his surgically repaired left hand, he is regarded as a long shot to play in the game and veteran lineman George Fant is expected to start at right tackle, according to league sources. Howard hasn’t fully recovered from the injury and is still dealing with swelling.

Meanwhile, starting safety Jimmie Ward (groin, dental procedure) isn’t practicing along with linebacker Blake Cashman (strained hamstring) and wide receiver John Metchie III. Metchie, who missed his entire rookie season after being diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia, had a hamstring injury earlier this year.

Second-year starting linebacker Christian Harris returned to practice after being held out of practice Monday and late last week.

Cashman had a setback recently with his leg. Second-year linebacker Jake Hansen is listed first on the depth chart. If Ward can’t go, the Texans have experienced options behind him in Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart.

The heftiest investments for the Texans’ roster has been their expensive and necessary spending at the offensive line position to protect rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud

That includes a three-year, $75 million contract extension that made Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil the highest paid offensive lineman in the league for the second time. The Texans traded for and signed former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive guard Shaq Mason to a three-year, $36 million deal. And the Texans signed right tackle Tytus Howard to a three-year, $56 million deal.

Once well-fortified across the line, the Texans are adjusting to a myriad of injuries at the position as they prepare for the opening game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens.

“Tytus is still working, day to day,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday. “We’ll see where he ends up.”

In the wake of left guard Kenyon Green being placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his shoulder, the Texans are expected to plug in former Arizona Cardinals and University of Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones as his replacement, per sources.

The Texans acquired Jones in a trade, sending a 2024 fifth-round draft pick to the Cardinals for the George Bush graduate and a 2024 seventh-round selection.

And, because rookie starting center Juice Scruggs, a second-round draft pick from Penn State, was placed on short-term injured reserve with a strained hamstring in the wake of former starting center Scott Quessenberry out for the entire season with torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, the Texans are making their third lineup change at center before the season has even officially started.

The Texans traded a 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for center-guard Kendrick Green and the former third-round draft pick from Illinois is expected to start against the Ravens, per sources. Another source indicated the decision is still being deliberated on whether it will be Green or rookie Jarrett Patterson, who is listed first on the unofficial depth chart.

“We’re still working through the offensive line,” Ryans said, “We go out to gameday, we’ll have a good group out there. And guys who are tasked with just doing the job that’s in front of them, whoever that may be, we just want guys to be accountable to their teammates and do what’s asked of them.”

It’s been a lot for the line to adapt to, and it has been loss after loss across the line. That started before training camp when swing tackle Charlie Heck was sidelined with a back condition that is affecting his foot and has landed him on the reserve-physically unable to perform list.

“Every team has injuries,” Mason said. “It’s been tough, guys falling as of late, but it’s part of the league. Guys have to step up. It’s the next guy up mentality. That’s why different guys are in and out. Whoever is out there in Baltimore, they’re expected to go out and perform. We try to bring guys along. We’re counting on them.”

Protecting Stroud against a Ravens defense that had 48 sacks last season is a top priority.

As he prepares for his first NFL regular-season game, Stroud needs to have sufficient time in the pocket to find his downfield targets.

“The offensive line is important, no matter who is playing at quarterback,” Ryans said. “We have C.J., a young quarterback, whichever quarterback lines up back there, you want to make sure he has great protection upfront. It will always be a high priority to me amongst the offensive and defensive line because I feel like that’s how you win games. It starts up front and that will never change. Try to go out with a subpar (offensive) line or a subpar (defensive) line, you’re going to be in for a long day.”

Injuries have hit the Texans right before the season.

“Injuries happen all the time in football, so you have to be ready to adjust,” Ryans said. “It’s never how you want it, it’s never the same 53 guys. There are always injuries. There’s always things you have to be ready to adapt and change with, so that’s just normal, NFL football.

“It happens every week, and for us, unfortunately it’s happened sooner, before the start of the season. But it’s something we have to deal with and we’re not whining about it. We’re not complaining. We’re going to push through. We’re all professionals, and that’s what guys have to go play football.”

NOTES

The Texans signed former Los Angeles Chargers running back Larry Rountree III to the practice squad along with safety Scott Nelson and placed rookie safety Brandon Hill on the practice squad-injured list. Hill missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury.

Rountree, 24, has rushed for 106 career yards and one touchdown with three career receptions for 13 yards.

He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection at Missouri, rushing for 972 yards as a senior and set the school record with 3,720 career rushing yards.

Rountree (5-foot-10, 210 pounds) is a former Chargers sixth-round draft pick.

The Texans worked out Nelson on Aug. 14. A 6-foot-2, 203-pound former undrafted free agent from Wisconsin, Nelson has played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks after recording 125 career tackles for the Badgers.

Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.

Texans' Jalen Pitre honored to be named team captain

By Aaron Wilson

Leadership is manifested in many forms. On a football team, and in most industries, actions speak at a louder volume than words.

In the case of Texans standout safety Jalen Pitre, his example of playmaking instincts, care for his teammates and passion for football and winning set him apart in every category.

In balloting from his teammates, the second-year player and former Stafford and Baylor standout was voted a team captain along with left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, quarterback C.J. Stroud and safety Jimmie Ward.

This was significant to Pitre. Being named a captain for his hometown NFL team one year after a mostly stellar rookie season is not taken lightly by Pitre.

“It meant the world to me,” Pitre said Tuesday during a charity event at Kids’ Meals Inc. in Houston. “I go out every day thinking about the team, just trying to help the team as much as possible. It’s huge. To be able to vote me in, I take that job very seriously. When I wake up every morning, I’m thinking about it.

“When I’m struggling in my diet and I want to eat some extra cookies at night I’m thinking about them. It’s important that they chose me for that and I don’'t take that lightly at all.”

Pitre and his teammates voted on captains during a team meeting Monday. They learned after practice from coach DeMeco Ryans who were named to leadership positions.

“I was smiling,” Pitre said. “I was really excited and thankful my teammates chose me and extremely gratefuI. I look forward to helping the team as much as possible in that role. I just want to be a light for this team”

As a rookie, the former Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year led the Texans with 147 tackles and five interceptions.

When Pitre reflects on his mostly stellar rookie season, he likes most of what he immortalized on film. Pitre focuses even more on the plays that got away and is honing his technique to avoid missing tackles this season through a more controlled style.

With fast reactions, intensity and intelligence, the second-round draft pick from Baylor parlayed his skills into an immediate starting job and an impactful first NFL season.

After a strong performance in training camp and preseason games, Ryans expects even more from Pitre this season.

“Jalen is the epitome of a leader. You talk about a guy who brings it every single day, the way he works every day. He’s making plays every day. It’s no surprise that Jalen is a leader on this team and it’s no surprise that he’s getting the attention he deserves because he’s a dynamic player.

“I’m excited to see the season ahead of Jalen, just because all of the work that he’s put in. You can tell when a player is going to have a good year. When they have a training camp like Jalen’s had, he’s going to have a really good year.”

Pitre recorded the most tackles among all NFL rookies and became the first player to record more than 125 tackles and intercept five passes since the tackle statistic began being tracked in 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He played 93 percent of the Texans’ total defensive snaps, rarely leaving the field.

As the Texans try to engineer a turnaround after going a combined 11-38-1 over the past three seasons, Pitre is encouraged by the outlook. After going 3-13-1 last season, the Texans have had a positive offseason.

“I feel like the mindset is shifting,” Pitre said. “You know, everybody’s hungry to do more and just to help out each other. When you got a team that is aggressive, smart and relentless, I feel like good things are going to come out of that.

“I just want to make the team better. That’s my overall goal. I just want to come in with the right mindset in order to improve from year one. I feel like I did some great things, year one, and I’m just trying to build off that.”

The Texans worked out former University of Houston and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Donavan Mutin along with defensive end Tashawn Bower and linebackers Ty Summers and Tyreek Maddox-Williams, per league sources.

None were immediately signed to a contract.

Mutin went undrafted after starting for the Coogs and signed with the Colts.

Mutin had one fumble recovery and three tackles during the preseason.

Summers is a former Green Bay Packers seventh-round draft pick from TCU. He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints, recording four tackles last season.

Bower has played for the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders, recording 23 tackles and two career sacks with four tackles for losses.

Maddox-Williams had an interception during the preseason with the Philadelphia Eagles, returning it 42 yards. He was previously with the Los Angeles Chargers. He played collegiately at Rutgers.

Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.